November 7^th, 2023

8:00 – 9:00am

Networking Breakfast

9:15 - 9:30am  

Welcome Address

9:30 – 10:15am

Setting the Stage

Serge Buy, President and CEO, Agri-Food Innovation Council

10:15 – 10:45am

Network & Refreshment Break

10:45 – 12:00pm

Panel

PRS® technology; A “time-tested” Improvement to the Traditional Soil Testing Paradigm

Dr. Jeff Schoenau, PAg at the University of Saskatchewan, Dept. of Soil Science

Ken Greer, MSc., PAg at Western Ag Group of Companies

Edgar Hammermeister, PAg, Agrologist and Farmer

Brad McKinney, Manitoba Farmer

12:00 - 1:00pm

Networking Luncheon

1:00 – 1:45pm

Presentation

Building Capacity Through Collaborative Research: PROCINORTE's Efforts to Combat African and Classical Swine Fever in the Americas

Vivian Arguelles Gonzalez at McGill University

Dr. Jean-Charles Le Vallée, Canada Representative at IICA

1:45 – 2:30pm

Joint Presentation

Building a Mushroom Harvesting Virtual Environment to image the Future of Automation

Ava Recchia at the University of Windsor

Development of Simulation Models for Mushroom Harvesting

Dr. (Ruth) Jill Urbanic, Professor, Department of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering at the University of Windsor

2:30 – 2:45pm

Networking & Refreshment Break

2:45 – 4:15pm

Presentations and Panel Discussion

Weston Family Foundation – Homegrown Challenge Initiative recipients 

Homegrown Innovation Challenge: using a challenge prize funding model to spur innovation and adoption

Dr. Lukasz Aleksandrowicz, Senior Program Manager at Weston Family Foundation

Dr. Joshua Pearce, Thompson Chair of Innovation at Ivey School of Business and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western University

Dr. Martine Dorais, Full Professor, Department of Phytology at Laval University

Sabine Bouchard, Manager of Research and Innovation at the  Boréal Collège

Dr. Lesley Campbell, Professor in Plant and Ecology at the Toronto Metropolitan University

4:15 – 5:00pm

Presentation

Extension & Adoption: Bringing Research and Innovation to Reality

Scott Ross, Executive Director at Canadian Federation of Agriculture

5:00 – 7:00pm

Networking Reception

November 8^th, 2023

8:00 – 8:45am

Networking Breakfast

8:45 – 9:45am

Panel

Ottawa Smart Farm Program – Bridging the Knowledge Gap

Susanne Cork, Business Development Director, Smart Farm and Advanced Robotics at Invest Ottawa, Area X.O.

Dr. Tet Yeap, Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa 

Jordan Wallace,  Co-Founder and Owner at GPS Ontario

9:45 – 10:30am

Presentation

Hurdles to Agtech Adoption and Their Solutions

Mairead Matthews, Manager, Digital Policy at Information and Communications Technology Council

10:30 – 11:00am

Network & Refreshment Break

11:00 – 12:15pm

Panel

Transforming Agri-Food Knowledge into Policy and Practice: What do we know and what does the future look like?

Dr. Helen Hambly, Ontario Agricultural College at University of Guelph

Dr. Ataharul Chowdhury, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development at the University of Guelph

Knowledge Translation & Transfer (AgKTT): Driving discovery, development and commercialization, acceptance and adoption of agri-innovations

Dr. Amy Lemay at VISTA Science and Technology Inc

12:15 – 1:30pm

Networking Luncheon

1:30 - 2:15pm

Presentation

Vineland – From Research to Adoption – the Path Forward

Dr. Ian Potter, President and CEO at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

2:15– 3:00pm

Presentation

How does Canada compare? An International Review of Agri-Food Adoption

3:00 – 3:15pm

Wrap-up and Refreshments

Learnings from the Sessions and Next Steps